Chapter Text
"-llo? Hello??"
Gabriel groaned, eyelids fluttering as he struggled to open them against the light. Someone was speaking to him.
“Are.. are you okay?? Fuck-"
Their voice was distant, unfamiliar. It was difficult to hear what they were saying over the ringing in his ears, but he was pretty sure it wasn't anybody he knew.
A hand pressed against his neck, feeling his pulse, before muttering something too faint for Gabriel to make out and giving the base of his helmet a gentle tug.
Trying to take it off.
Gabriel's eyes snapped open.
Flooded with adrenaline, all the drowsiness the archangel had previously felt was gone. Ignoring how dizzy he felt, he forced himself upright, grabbing his attacker's wrist and wrenching it away from him with all the force he could muster.
"GET OFF ME!"
With millennia of training guiding his movements, he reached for his sword, only for a sudden, debilitating wave of nausea to stop him dead in his tracks. It took nearly all of his energy just to keep himself awake and conscious.
Gabriel had never been to Earth. None of the greater angels had. They preferred to keep away from God's humanity project, expressing little to no interest in the creatures He'd become so enamoured with. But he'd heard stories. Tales - both from the sinners he judged and the Virtues that helped him oversee Hell, painted a gruesome picture of the state of the world now.
Inhospitable didn't come close.
So as Gabriel looked up, he knew what he was seeing was impossible.
It was a crisp summer's day. The sun was barely visible, peeking out from behind a few fluffy white clouds, making the otherwise scorching heat more of a pleasant warmth. There was no pollution, no gunfire - no machines tearing each other limb from limb, all to win a war whose purpose had been long forgotten.
And the sky was blue.
Next to him, knelt on the sidewalk, was a young woman. A human. She was pale, with long, mousy coloured hair, and she stared at Gabriel with wide, scared eyes.
Oh.
He’d frightened her.
"Sorry," She said, quietly. "I should've asked, I just thought- I don't know.. Are you.. okay?"
Trying to make sense of his whirling thoughts, the angel nodded. He was fine, he could handle a little nausea. He was just.. confused.
Where was he? How had he gotten here? Usually his memory was perfect.. why couldn't he remember anything?
Rubbing the front of his helm with his hand, Gabriel rose to his feet.
..and immediately regretted it.
The nausea increased tenfold. He stumbled, vision blurring, and instinctively grabbed onto the first thing he saw in an attempt to keep himself upright. He heard a yelp, and it was only once his vision cleared that he realised why.
He’d grabbed onto the human’s arm.
She stared at him, expression laced with worry.
“You, uh.. you need a hand..?"
"No."
Gritting his teeth, Gabriel forced himself to let go. He swayed momentarily, but quickly steadied himself. He was fine. It was just a little bit of dizziness, he wasn't even bleeding! Besides, this place unsettled him. A strange, utopian mockery of the planet earth, cleansed of the death and destruction.. something just felt wrong. The faster he was able to leave, the better.
Straightening up, Gabriel did his best to sound confident, stretching out his wings behind him and folding his arms across his chest.
"I appreciate your offer, but I will have to decline. I have other matters to attend to. Continue down this path of good will, and I believe salvation awaits you.
With that, he turned to leave. Calling upon the blinding pillar of light with such practiced ease it may as well have been effortless, Gabriel envisioned the white marbled halls of his home..
And screamed.
It felt like he was being burned alive. The pain dominated every other sense, tearing through Gabriel's body like a blade and leaving nothing but destruction and agony in its wake.
He wasn't sure how long it took before he felt like he could breathe again. He was lying on the ground, wings curled tightly around himself. He hadn't even noticed himself fall. The human was sitting next to him, picking incessantly at her cuticles, a thin trickle of blood dripping down her index finger.
Slowly - very slowly, Gabriel uncurled himself. The human gasped, startled out of her thoughts, and immediately rushed to his side, offering her arm as a crutch to help him sit up.
Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, but her tone was firm.
"That's it - I'm taking you to the hospital."
"No."
Gabriel's voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper, his vocal chords torn to shreds by his own screams.
A hospital was the worst place for him right now. The thought of being surrounded by humans, all trying to touch and be near him, made the already unbearable panic in his chest grow into an incomprehensible behemoth of terror, once which threatened to crush him entirely under its own weight.
"No, no hospital. I'm-"
She wasn't listening this time.
“Do you even know how loud you just screamed?! You’re NOT fine! I—"
She bit her lip, trembling violently.
“I’m taking you home. To my home. If you don't wanna go to hospital, that's your choice, but I’m not leaving you here."
Gabriel choked.
Surely this wasn't typical human behaviour. This.. utter selflessness. From everything he'd been told - everything he'd seen, mankind's cruelty was its defining feature. They built fleets of machines, designed and produced specifically to tear other humans to shreds. Not only that, but they prided themselves on the efficiency of the killing machines, each generation built to combat the last.
Kindness had no place in a world like that.
Was she lying? Trying to get him to lower his guard? He had quite literally no idea where he was, he’d be a fool to trust a complete stranger like this.
Then again, what other options did he have?
The human - Lara, she said her name was - helped Gabriel walk the short distance to her house. It was just down the street, only a few houses away, but in his current condition he doubted he would've made it without her assistance. She’d been coming home from work, she’d said. That was why she’d spotted him. Apparently her street was relatively out of the way, too. If she hadn’t been there, he would’ve been completely on his own.
The first thing Lara did once they got into her house was to offer Gabriel her bedroom to sleep in. He immediately protested, of course, he couldn’t possibly accept such a selfless offer, but she made it very clear that his refusal wasn’t an option.
“Either you sleep there,” She’d said, “Or in the guest room. You’re ill. I’m not letting you stay the night on a couch."
It took a while, but eventually Gabriel accepted
Along with the bedroom, which he thanked her for extensively, Lara also provided Gabriel with some spare clothes. She was vague about where they came from, and seemed strangely uncomfortable when he asked, but they fit him well enough and it was a lot more comfortable than having to sleep in his armour. Even still, it took him almost half an hour, along with physically barricading the door with a chair, before he finally felt comfortable enough to change.
……..
The moment the door to Gabriel's room swung closed, Lara allowed herself to panic.
Throwing her bag unceremoniously onto the couch, she began to pace around her living room, picking relentlessly at her already bloodied cuticles. What the *hell* was she doing?
Instead of doing the sensible thing and taking a very obviously sick person to the hospital, she'd just picked the guy off the street like a stray cat and invited him into her home.
God, what was she was going to do after this? How long was she going to let him stay? She wasn't about to just kick a sick guy out of her house, but she didn't even know what was wrong with him. What if his health got worse?
If he'd just let her take him to a doctor, at the very least she might be able to get him some medicine. But he'd never accept that.
Fuck it. She'd gotten him off the streets, that was the best she could hope for. After he'd gotten a good night's rest, she'd just drive him home. She could only hope that he'd make the right choices.
Meanwhile, in Lara's room, Gabriel was not having a good time.
His nerves were at an all time high. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled with anxiety as he stared at the door, half expecting it to slam open at any second as some unforeseen enemy charged into the room.
He'd never stayed the night anywhere except his home before. With the ability to teleport that all greater angels had, there was simply no reason to. Things like hotels and tents became utterly obsolete when you had the ability to simply return home at a moment's notice.
Maybe his attacker would go for a stealthier option. Gently pushing open the door, their footsteps would be light as they crept across the carpet. If it was Lara, as the homeowner she'd know the layout perfectly, able to avoid any creaky floorboards or squeaky hinges as she made her way towards him.
It was late afternoon when he arrived at Lara's house. Despite his exhaustion, his paranoia meant it was almost midnight by the time he finally managed to drift off to sleep.
It didn't last long.
Be it the birds outside or the faint rumble of traffic from the nearby streets, he was so on edge that even the slightest sound was enough to snap him back to consciousness.
There was a name for this. This sleeplessness. He'd heard people talk about it before, but he'd never considered the possibility that it could affect the divine.
Insomnia.
When a car alarm went off at around 6 am, causing Gabriel to flinch so badly he sprained a muscle in his back, he decided to give up trying.
Slipping back into his armour and shaking out his wings, Gabriel decided to occupy himself by trying to learn more about his surroundings. It was basic training. Familiarising yourself with an unknown environment was the best way to prevent an ambush.
He was being responsible.
It definitely wasn't because he was curious..
As judge of Hell, Gabriel was the first person a sinner would speak to after their death. As a result, from conversations with the dead alone, he'd been able to learn a great deal about the earth without ever actually visiting. Unfortunately, as he was coming to realise, almost all of his knowledge was surface level.
For example. Gabriel recognised that the large screen on the wall in the living room was probably a TV. He knew that it was used to display videos and movies, and that it was controlled via a remote. After some searching, he even managed to find the remote, which was an achievement so small it wasn't even worth mentioning, and did not make his wings flutter with excitement when he noticed it sitting on the couch.
It was only as he began trying to use the device that he realised how little he knew about it. Staring at the remote, Gabriel immediately found himself overwhelmed. Where did he even begin? Numbers and buttons, 'VOL' and 'CH', he may as well have had his eyes closed. Part of him was tempted to try. Maybe he’d have better luck that way.
He was so used to just.. knowing things. Battles to him were now nothing more than a set of repeating patterns; a series of preset moves he switched between depending on who he was fighting. Playing the organ was, by now, just muscle memory. A dance he knew all the steps to, a test where he had all the answers. Though it wasn't as rewarding or exciting as it'd been before, he was good at it.
Letting out a huff of frustration, Gabriel abandoned the remote. Instead, he decided to busy himself with exploring the rest of the house. Lara wasn’t awake yet, so he had free roam of the place - excluding the guest room where she’d gone to sleep that night. He was curious, he wasn’t rude.
He wandered the house, but nothing particularly caught his eye. At least, not until he got to the kitchen. A rose gold machine sat on the countertop, shining slightly in the light coming in through the nearby window. Unlike the TV, where he’d had at least a vague idea of what it did, this device completely baffled him. It almost looked like one of the many machines that’d made their way down into Hell.
Could it be..?
This world was clearly different to the Earth Gabriel was familiar with. If there was even a chance that machines still roamed.. then it was his duty to eliminate them.
Wings fluttering slightly, Gabriel placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
It was around 8 am by the time Lara came through for breakfast. Eyes blurry with sleep, she'd walked into the kitchen to make her morning coffee..
Only to find Gabriel already there.
"Jesus-!” She gasped, leaning against the doorframe with a shuddering sigh. She’d gotten so scared she’d almost thrown her phone at him.
He turned suddenly, taking a hurried step away from the coffee machine on the counter. She’d probably scared him as much as he’d scared her.
"Sorry,” Her blood pressure was slowly beginning to come down, and she was genuinely considering skipping her morning coffee for fear of actually having a heart attack. "I didn't realise you were awake, I just.. you startled me.” A pause. “Um. Have you eaten?"
“Ah.” Gabriel said. He seemed tense. “No, I haven’t."
“Oh."
Lara hesitated. Would it be weird to offer him breakfast? How close to someone do you have to be to offer to make breakfast for them? Probably closer than ‘just picked them off the street’.
“Cereal’s in the bottom left cupboard.” She said, awkwardly. "If you want any."
Now that she wasn’t scared someone had broken in, Lara was able to notice that he was still wearing his costume. Had the clothes she’d given him not fit? It was a cool cosplay - the wings and halo were especially impressive - but she’d hate if he’d had to sleep in it.
“Oh, no,” He said. "I.. do not require food. I appreciate the offer, though."
…….
Huh???
The fuck did that mean?? Maybe he.. wasn’t feeling well?? Or something?? He did seem to have a habit of phrasing things incredibly strangely, maybe this was one of those times.
Running a hand through her hair, Lara glanced away. God, this was so awkward.
“Um. Are you feeling any better?"
“Much better, thank you.” For the first time since she’d met Gabriel yesterday evening, Lara felt her shoulders relax. "I’ll be heading home today. Your hospitality is greatly appreciated."
Lara blinked. He was leaving? Just like that? It made sense, he was in a stranger’s house, she just hadn’t been expecting him to be so upfront about it. Part of her had been worried he wouldn’t leave at all.
“Oh, no worries! I wasn’t about to just leave you on the street."
Moving past him, Lara opened a cupboard and pulled out a colourful looking mug with a cartoon cat painted on the front. She’d thought she hadn’t wanted coffee, but the cravings were calling to her.
Putting the cup under the portafilter of her trusty coffee machine, she pressed the button on the top and watched the liquid begin to flow.
Mmm.. coffee..
“Oh, sorry,” She said, “I should’ve asked if you wanted a lift. Public transit sucks around here."
Gabriel chuckled softly, shaking his head. “I think I’ll be alright. Thank you, though."
A pause.
“What is this?"
Lara frowned.
“What, the coffee machine? You don’t know what a coffee machine is?"
Maybe it was just the lighting, but for a moment it almost looked like Gabriel’s helmet went slightly pink.
“No,“ He said, “No, I know what a coffee machine is. I just.. didn’t realise this was one."
Weirdly enough, he seemed almost relieved. Like he was glad that it was just a coffee machine, rather than whatever the hell else he thought it was. Man, this guy was weird. Kind of endearing, too, in a strange sort of way.
After her cup was finished brewing, Lara stood by the window, gazing out at the street and her neighbours houses as she drank. It was peaceful.
"So, Gabe.” She started, only to be immediately cut off by Gabriel’s irritated correction of his name.
“That’s not my name.” He said. “Don’t call me that."
It took everything she had not to laugh.
"Gabriel, sorry. Um. I was thinking, before you head home.. would you wanna exchange phone numbers?"
A slight tilt of his head. That seemed to be something he did a lot - probably because his facial expressions weren’t visible when he was wearing his helmet.
“Phone numbers?"
“Yeah! You seem like you're feeling better, but it'd make me a lot less anxious if I knew you were okay. If that's alright with you, obviously."
Gabriel hesitated.
Misinterpreting it as discomfort, Lara quickly back-pedalled.
"No pressure if you don't want to, it was just an idea. I know I probably wouldn't feel comfortable giving my phone number to a stranger either-"
"I.. do not have a phone."
There was a moment of silence between the two, the cawing of birds and the faint rumble of traffic from the nearby streets filling the small kitchen.
Lara gawked at him.
"You- what??"
The coffee machine had been surprising, but this was just ridiculous. While she didn't know how old Gabriel was exactly, judging by his voice and overall stature, she'd guess he was probably somewhere in his 30's. A guy in his 30's without a phone? He had to be fucking with her.
"Is that a problem?"
"Ok, no. You had me before with the coffee machine, but that's just.. Are you.. what do they call it - LARPing?"
Gabriel stared at her.
Oh god, he wasn’t.
"Okay, uhm.. If you really don't have a phone, I think I still have my old one in storage somewhere. Do you.. want me to go get it?"
“That.. would be helpful, yes. I’m afraid I don’t have any currency. Is that alright?"
Oh, shit. He had been passed out on the street when she’d found him, some assholes had probably come by and taken all his stuff. That would explain why he didn’t have a phone, too.
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” She said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s super old, I wouldn’t expect anyone to pay for it. Anyway, gimme a minute, i’ll be right back."
Finding the phone took less time than she'd expected. It was completely dead, as she hadn’t used it in months, so she plugged it in by her bed before returning to the kitchen.
“Found it! It’ll probably take around an hour to charge, so feel free to chill until then. I can just write my phone number down for you or something, since you’ll probably have to go to a repair shop to get a new number. I don’t really know how it works."
Gabriel nodded. Having some time to rest before going home sounded just fine to him. Though he was relatively certain yesterday’s.. mishap.. had been a one off event, he had to admit he was a little anxious at the thought of trying to teleport again. A little preparation wouldn’t hurt.
“Thank you, Lara. I will rest in my- er, your room until I am needed."
With that, the two parted ways.
And only 15 minutes later, Lara heard Gabriel scream...